Week Thirteen: Mining for Gold

In some of the small amount of my free time I have taken to watching the television show Gold Rush.  Within the show several groups of miners are on the quest for gold amidst the recent Alaskan gold rush.  I cannot help but reflect on the fact that to me the process of determining a research interest or dissertation topic is much like the process of mining for gold.  It involves sifting through many topic options, at first large and then progressively smaller until the final stages where nuggets are uncovered.  As graduate students we develop inquiry depth within our courses over time.  Throughout that process we narrow down interests.  Topics narrow first in large chunks, either by eliminating or highlighting potential options.  As time passes, interests continue to narrow until there a research need, the gold at the end of the mining process is found.

In a previous entry I mentioned the venn diagram that represents the need for research to fit within an area of need within a field of research.  Further reading on that post is located in the Week Nine entry.

Like mining, research also involves instincts.  At first we follow our gut to places that feel like they might be a good fit.  They are exciting, intriguing and spark additional curiosity.  In time we continue to read and stumble upon resources that refine our research topics.  Throughout this process we also are afforded the chance to network with other researchers who have input, ideas and resources that can continue to add depth.

At a conference this past weekend I interacted with a prominent researcher in Higher Education that made a great point about how her research interests unfolded that resonated with me.  She said that throughout her career she had things that caught her interests and somehow an opportunity serendipitously was presented that allowed her to pursue.  Each step she took, another opportunity managed to present itself to her leading to her current work.  She referred to opportunities as doors that opened that she just had to “walk through”.  To me this spoke to the patience required to pursue passions.  There is time needed to network and build resources worth chasing.  All of this time is worth using and remembering.  The process of narrowing research is not easy, and I am sure at times is frustrating.  Reminders like this  are important to hold onto throughout the process that lies ahead.

Remember that what lies ahead might be a challenge but it is worth every minute.

Week Twelve: Writing with Style

As writers we have a lot to learn.  At least I know I do.  At a recent conference I heard several veteran writers in Higher Education say that they too always worked on improving their writing.  So I am hoping that I am not alone on this one.

John Trimble in his book Writing with Style: Conversations on the Art of Writing now in its 3rd edition he addresses some basic strategies that help a writer improve writing style and practice.  I admittedly have not read it yet but it is at the top of my end of semester reading list.  The reason I bring this up is the writing process as a graduate students is in my experience one that takes ownership by each author.  I need to take responsibility for myself as a writer and challenge myself to continue to grow as a writer.  Starting with books like Trimbles.  At this point of my academic journey I have identified the following steps that I need to pursue to improve as a writer.

• Practice writing in different styles.  To be an effective researcher and scholar each writer needs to develop different styles to use to address the different media types available.  The style I use on this blog (a rather non-academic approach) is not even remotely the same as the style it would take to be considered for an academic journal.  To improve as a writer I need to practice writing in different media and have experience writing through different "lenses".
• Accepting feedback.  On a run this evening I saw a sign in the football weight room that read "Pain is weakness leaving the body".  This is not a unique sign to this campus or to this weight room but it got me thinking about feedback and writing.  As writers we need a tremendous amount of feedback to develop good work and publish professional materials.  As a graduate student is we had a mythical "weight room" I think this sign would read "Feedback is key to weakness leaving your work".  It is important to learn to embrace feedback.
• Build a network.  In a recent conference session I heard a speaker discuss her network of writing friends who promise to critique and be honest about each others work.  Even though I am early in my academic career I find myself on the lookout for people who might fit this mold.  Folks who I can benefit as much or more than could benefit me.  It will take the help of others for me to learn and grow to my potential.  I too want to pay that forward to others.  Now is as good a time as any to get that process started.
• Write every day.  I heard it recently said that writing is a habit that needs to be practiced.  This applies to graduate students too.  While it is not easy to write additional work than is expected of us it is important to keep the writing muscles sharp and practiced.

Remember that what lies ahead might be a challenge but it is worth every minute.

Materials to support writing:

Belcher, W. L. (2009). Writing your journal article in 12 weeks: A guide to academic publishing success. Los Angeles, CA: Sage.

Bolker, J. (1998). Writing your dissertation in 15 minutes a day: A guide to starting, revising, and finishing your doctoral thesis. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company.

Graff, G., Birkenstein, C., & Durst, R. K. (2009). They say/I say: The moves that matter in academic writing : With readings. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Co.

Trimble, J. R., (2010). Writing with style: Conversations on the art of writing (3rd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Week Ten: I am Lucky (and I think you are too)

When I was in college I saw a commercial once that depicted a man painting a picture from within a wheelchair.  This would not have been terribly uncommon or memorable had the man not been using his teeth to paint because he was unable to move any of the the rest of his body.  Throughout this short clip he struggled to complete his painting, dropping his brush many times.  The commercial captured what appeared to be a very frusterating process, but enjoyable process for the artist.  In the end, his labor of love was complete and the commercial just showed three words typed by the artist and read by computer softward that said.  "I am lucky."  I wish I could find this add on youtube to share with you, I unfortunately could not.  I do remember it vividly though and came back to me this week.

I don’t tell myself this enough but I am truly lucky to have the opportunities to pursue graduate education.  This is not something that many people have the opportunity to do.  As of 2005 according to the National Institute of Educational Statistics only 5.9% of Americans had completed a masters degree and 1.1% completed a doctorate (National Institute, 2011).  Wikipedia also has some charts and graphs associated with educational attainment that are worth looking into.  The bottom line is I find myself in a very small group of people who are blessed with a chance to pursue a graduate degree.  This is a message that I need to keep reminding myself of, I sometimes get bogged down in the work and the difficulty associated with the program and do not think about what a privilege this is.

As a part of a class discussion this week the following article was discussed about the shape of the future of higher education.  The article is written by Walter Benn Michaels, professor of English at the University of Illinois at Chicago and titled “The Trouble with Diversifying Faculty”, it was published in Liberal Education which can be found here. The premise is that the primary group that is oppressed in admission processes of universities are financially underprivileged students. One of the summary quotes as highlighted by Rick Reis a faculty member at Stanford was:

“And, of course, what it also means is that the underrepresentation of African Americans in colleges and universities has nothing to do with those universities keeping out African Americans (or, for that matter, Hispanics and Native Americans). Universities don’t keep out minority students; they keep out poor students.”

It is not my intention for this quote to cause controversy or debate, but more an appreciation for what could become a growing trend.  I mention it more because it reminds my of just how lucky I am to have ended up where I have.  I want to make sure that I use this time and this privilege for good.  This just fortifies in me the purpose of my educational pursuits.  I want to further myself to help narrow the access gaps in higher education.  It is unfair to presume that our country can continue to grow and solve the complex problems we face if we continue to shut out access to education from anyone.  

The level of success I will achieve on this venture I am not sure, but it is still important to me to have a reminder every once and a while that I am lucky, and that anyone else pursuing graduate education is too.


Remember that what lies ahead might be a challenge but it is worth every minute.


Resources:

National Institute of Educational Statistics. (2011). Retrieved from, http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d05/tables/dt05_009.asp

Michaels, Walter Benn (2011). The Trouble with Diversifying the Faculty. Liberal education, 97 (1), p. 14.

Week Nine: Finding a Niche

One of the most enjoyable components of graduate education is the opportunity to mold curriculum to individual interests.  As a supplement to core coursework strong electives can help provide unique marketing opportunities for the professional impact of each student.  Electives and additional coursework build cognates, which are similar to minors in undergraduate education. They serve as a group of courses that help to construct a field expertise.

The challenge of this process comes within the process of choosing courses that both meet interests and are marketable within a designated professional field.  If this was drawn as a venn diagram it would include the intersection [C] of a circle titled “field needs” [A] and another titled “professional passions” [B].  

The challenge of this search is that it is unique to each person.  

The way I have started to break this down is by considering the following factors:

1. What are my goals upon graduation?
• I plan to apply for faculty positions, so my research should fill a field void and begin a research niche.
• If I were to be pursuing administrative work my research could compliment my work to solidify professional expertise and supplement my future professional administrative work.
2. What are my realistic areas of interest?
3. How do these interests fit within my field of study?
4. What courses would compliment this pursuit best?

This is an evolving process, but reflecting on it over time will help to seek out courses that come up throughout the program that might supplement my cognate. It is important to me to find courses that are a strong fit, this will likely involve patience which is difficult because it would feel so much better to have a degree plan laid out. I just have to remind myself that there is plenty of time.

A quote "every passion has a destiny" by Barry Miles rings true to me as I consider this process. The development of this quote actually has an interesting story. I firmly believe that it is the goal of each of us to find out what out greatest passion is in life and find a way to pursue it in everyday life. It is my hope that targeted coursework can help me find that path, and I hope you find yours too.

Remember that what lies ahead might be a challenge but it is worth every minute.

Week Eight: Homeostasis

In the 1996 film Bio-Dome two quirky characters (Bud and Doyle) get roped into a project to rescue self-contained environment project.  A plot twist incurs where substantial damage is done to the dome that needs to be repaired internally.  As the film progresses Bud and Doyle work hard to restore the “Bio-Dome” to homeostasis, or “the property of a system that regulates its internal environment and tends to maintain a stable, constant condition of properties” (Homeostasis, 2011).  To me, being a graduate student is at times like physically being an organic dome  that undergoes unnecessary or unusual stress, much like the stress put on the Bio-Dome.  We too need to constantly seek out ways to retain homeostasis and balance within our lives.

As another perspective on this similar thought I am reminded of the book Tau Te Ching roughly translated as “the book of the way”.  This book is a modern translation of the writings of the philosopher Lao-tzu originating around 500 B. C.  Within this book one of the entries states the following,

“Being and non-being create each other.

Difficult and easy support each other.

Long and short define each other.

High and low depend on each other.

Before and after follow each other” (Mitchell, 1988, p. 2).

This quote eloquently describes the extremes that exist in life and how they are dependent on each other.  There are extremes in everything that happens in daily life, and at times those extremes are created by us as individuals.  This thought helps remind me that within doctoral graduate study it is important to remain level headed and balanced.  To not celebrate productivity too hard, and to not let the work load weigh you down too much.  To not let great results get you too high, or to let poor results get you too low.  The process of graduate study is about learning, so we must remain focused on what lessons and feedback are available to us to learn from.  For the next three years there will always be plenty to do and it will only be accomplished one word at a time.  Remaining on the level can help to preserve and balance emotional peaks and valleys associated with the journey.

I don’t intend to sound like we should all take on the qualities of drones that just slowly drudge through our work.  I am just realizing that if I let it, the work load and stress associated with graduate study could weigh me down more than it should.

I will try to remind myself of this as I continue to make progress through the work that remains this semester and in semesters to follow.

Remember that what lies ahead might be a challenge but it is worth every minute.


Resources:

Blumenthal, J. (Producer), & Bloom, J. (Director). (1996). Bio-Dome. [Motion Picture]. United States: MGM.

Mitchell, S. (1988). Tao te ching. New York, NY: HarperCollins.

Week Seven: Re-Group

This is a little behind schedule, my apologies.  I have been on fall break, which relates to the topic of the week.

Within the semester there is time built in to give students a chance to re-group and re-energize.  This week was fall break and it was nice to have some time to relax and look at projects that lie ahead throughout the semester.  That was my activity for this week.  Getting refreshed, and re-grouped to be as aggressive as possible with the remaining work of the semester.  This rest will pay off in fighting off germs and illness later on in the semester (I hope).

This time also serves as a good chance to evaluate what lies ahead and what the priorities remaining for the rest of the semester are.  This includes working ahead on some projects that will take considerable time and effort, reducing the stress that will be be present within the closing weeks of the semester.

Techniques I have tried that may or may not be worth considering.

• Work small amounts on final projects each day of the break to chip away at them and feel a bit more confident in their direction.

Week Six: Mentors and Motivators

Like most terminology the word mentor has Greek origins.  To read a story about where the term mentor was devised check here.

Turner states that a mentor is “an experienced person who advises, guides, teaches, inspires, challenges and corrects, and serves as a role model” (Turner, 2004, p.5).  Mentors have  a critical educational value in graduate education.  Many of us are surrounded by people who have knowledge and expertise and are more than willing to share what they know to help others learn and grow.  It is important to capitalize on these opportunities whenever possible.

To me there are three types of mentors.  

• Those who have the position you would like to have and can give you insights on how to get there.
• Those that do not have the position you would like but have many skills and resources to develop skills necessary to reach your professional goals.
• Those that are in a similar position (other graduate students) to you that have great perspective on how to be successful and navigate graduate school.  Their insights will probably be more raw and practical and help you survive and capitalize on opportunities within the program.  Asking real questions to these folks helps navigate the intricacies of a graduate program.

All three types of mentors offer tremendous wisdom and insight that is necessary to progress through the program and eventually professionally.  Finding folks that are easy to connect with to foster these outstanding learning and networking opportunities is a key to graduate student success.  This process loosely involves the following steps

1. Identify individuals who have similar passions and interests (see above categories)
2. Initiate contact and relationship
3. Foster relationship
4. Secure a project or committee that connects you to them for a longer duration of time to build a relational depth (If geographic proximity is a challenge keeping a mentor in the loop about what is happening in your professional world helps keeps ties fresh)

Motivators are people that help remind us of why we are committed to our work.  They can be students, children, family, colleagues or someplace random like this.  Reminding in touch with motivators can help in times of struggle or lack of professional clarity.  We have all had days that were harder than others.  Those are the days that I find myself needing to remember motivators and their value to me.  As I write this I am thinking about needing a refresher.  

Techniques I have tried that may or may not be worth considering.

• Being proactive to reach out to people that I feel a connection with so far.
• Say thank you to those who are helpful to you.  I know that I would not be where I am without some tremendous people.  I do not thank them enough.  So this message serves as a reminder that I should send thanks to them again.
• Remembering in times of struggle that there are motivators out there that can keep you in touch with the purpose of the journey. 

Quote that best represents the week.

• One of my favorite books of all time.  Tuesdays with Morrie is filled with great quotes, but here are two favorites
• "The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in" (Albom, 1997, p. 52).
• "In the beginning of life, when we were infants, we need others to survive, right? And at the end of life, when you get like me, you need others to survive, right? But here's the secret: in between, we need others as well" (p. 157).

Remember that what lies ahead might be a challenge but it is worth every minute.

Resources:

Albom, M. (1997). Tuesdays with Morrie. New York, NY: Doubleday.

Neteinstein (2007, February 11).  Team Hoyt - Dick and Rick Hoyt. Retrieve September 30, 2011, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flRvsO8m_KI.

Turner,  M. (2004). Mentoring: an overview.  Retrieved from

http://www.dur.ac.uk/resources/hr/mentoring/Mentoring-anOverviewMikeMunroTurner.pdf

Week Five: Happy Place

Within the entry for week two I referenced the advice in reference to  “managing your freak outs”.  This week I would like to expand upon this a little further and provide some thought that I have found useful to this topic having survived what I would describe as my first minor “freak out”.  

Adjusting to graduate study is a constant process.  Just when you think there is some method to the madness a curve is thrown in the calls for adjustment.  For me this adjustment came this week when I received my first set of feedback.  This feedback was not terrible but it was not outstanding either.  It required me to take a step back and carefully evaluate the strategies that I had incorporated thus far to create a better opportunity for future success.  The exact changes in my strategies may be elaborated at a further date but for now I want to reflect more on what to do within an emotionally sensitive point to get centered and be able to proceed with a level head.

Psychologists call this coping, or “constantly changing cognitive and behavioral efforts to manage specific external and/or internal demands that are appraised as taxing (“Wikipedia”, 2011)”.  The key is finding ways to settle your mind and body in times of high stress.  Each of us have our own ways of doing this, the important thing is to protect time to do so.  

Techniques I have tried that may or may not be worth considering.

• I run.  (Actually I jog at a slow pace, but I think you get my drift) It “costs” about three to four hours a week of my time, but the “benefits” accrued from doing so are well worth that sacrifice within my schedule.  These benefits are even more critical on days that I am more stressed than usual.  Knowing the benefits of balancing this additional stress makes it all the more important to carve out the time to run even if it is the last thing that it makes sense to do.  This by no means is a plug to start running, it is merely a push to encourage you to make time to do the one or two things that really bring you inner peace and balance when your life may not have that naturally occurring.  
• Putting myself in a situation that encourages laughing also helps.  Whatever that may entail for you I am not sure, but laughing can be powerful medicine for stress.
• I also do my best to spend time with people I care about when I can.  That time feels so much better when it is planned for and looked forward to.  Cherish it.
• If you ask me it is worth a try.  Fight for that “you” time.  I think it will help out in both the short and the long term.

Quote that best represents the week.

• “There is, only one person in this race and that person is me.” - Goerge Sheehan (Burfoot, 2007, p. 31)
• This quote reminds me that this journey is my own to figure out. It does not matter how others manage it, my experience will be unique and special from all others. It does not matter how I finish as long as I do. This quote in addition to reminding me that running is my own art, reflects well on this journey as well.

Remember that what lies ahead might be a challenge but it is worth every minute.


Resources:

Burfoot, A. (2007). The runner’s guide to the meaning of life. New York, NY: Skyhorse.

Coping. (n.d). Un Wikipedia. RetrievedSeptember 25, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coping_(psychology)